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"Tail between one’s legs" nghĩa là gì?

Long-tailed Shrike, Beel Akbarpur, Dadri Wetlands. Photo courtesy Koshy Koshy.

Khi một con chó sợ hãi, nó thường chạy cúp đuôi xuống giữa hai chân. Người Mỹ dùng thành ngữ này, tail between one's legs, để diễn tả tình trạng bị bẽ mặt, xấu hổ vì thất bại hay vì lầm lỗi.

Ví dụ

Erin was always bragging (khoe khoang) that she was the best swimmer on the team. But recently she came in last in the regional competition. Ever since, she has had her tail between her legs (cảm thấy bẽ mặt). She’s still embarrassed (xấu hổ) about her defeat (thất bại).

My manager’s son Andy was always proud (tự hào) of his driving, but was surely embarrassed when his father learned that he had borrowed his car and had an accident (bị đụng xe). That’s why I said that he must have had his tail between his legs.

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